Early history

The first written evidence of the existence of the Herst settlement appears in William the Conqueror's Domesday Book of 1086, which reports that one of William's closest supporters granted tenancy of the manor at Herst to a man named 'Wilbert'.^[1] By the end of the twelfth century, the family at the manor house at Herst had considerable status. Written accounts mention a lady called Idonea de Herst, who married a Norman nobleman named Ingelram de Monceux. Around this time, the manor began to be called the "Herst of the Monceux", a name that eventually became Herstmonceux.^[1]

A descendant of the Monceux family, Roger Fiennes, was ultimately responsible for the construction of Herstmonceux Castle in the County of Sussex. Sir Roger was appointed Treasurer of the Household of Henry VI of England and needed a house fitting a man of his position, so construction of the castle on the site of the old manor house began in 1441. It was this position as treasurer which enabled him to afford the £3,800 construction of the original castle.^[6]

Floor plan of the original house; (l) ground floor, (r) first floor

In 1541, Sir Thomas Fiennes, Lord Dacre, was tried for murder and robbery of the King's deer after his poaching exploits on a neighboring estate resulted in the death of a gamekeeper. He was convicted and hanged as a commoner, and the Herstmonceux estate was temporarily confiscated by Henry VIII of England, but was restored to the Fiennes family during the reign of one of Henry's children.^[7]

The profligacy of the 15th Baron Dacre, heir to the Fiennes family, forced him to sell in 1708 to George Naylor, a lawyer of Lincoln's Inn in London. Bethaia Naylor, who became the heiress of Herstmonceux on the death of her brother's only daughter, married Francis Hare and produced a son, Francis, who inherited in turn, his mother's property. The castle eventually came into the possession of Robert Hare-Naylor, who, upon the insistence of his second wife, Henrietta Henckell, followed the architect Samuel Wyatt's advice to reduce the Castle to a picturesque ruin by demolishing the interior.^[8] Thomas Lennard, 17th Baron Dacre, was sufficiently exercised as to commission James Lamberts Jnr of Lewes (1741–1799) to record the building in 1776.^[9][10][11] The castle was dismantled in 1777 leaving the exterior walls standing and remained a ruin until the early 20th century.^[12]

20th-century restoration

Radical restoration work was undertaken by Colonel Claude Lowther in 1913 to transform the ruined building into a residence and, based on a design by the architect, Walter Godfrey, this work was completed by Sir Paul Latham in 1933. The existing interiors largely date from that period, incorporating architectural antiques from England and France. The one major change in planning was the combination of the four internal courtyards into one large one. The restoration work, regarded as the apex of Godfrey's architectural achievement, was described by the critic Sir Nikolaus Pevsner as executed 'exemplarily'.^[13]

Royal Greenwich Observatory

Aerial view of the former Royal Greenwich Observatory at Herstmonceux; the Isaac Newton Dome is the single dome to the right

The former Royal Greenwich Observatory at Herstmonceux

The Royal Observatory was founded by King Charles II at Greenwich in 1675.^[14] Observing conditions at Greenwich deteriorated following the urban growth of London, and plans were made in the early 20th century to relocate the observatory to a rural location with clearer, darker skies. Herstmonceux Castle and estate were put up for sale by their private owners and were sold in 1946 to the Admiralty, which then operated the Royal Observatory on behalf of the British government. The relocation of the observatory took place over a decade, and was complete by 1957. A number of new buildings were erected in the castle grounds. The institution at Herstmonceux Castle was known as the Royal Greenwich Observatory, where it remained until 1988, when the observatory relocated to Cambridge.^[15]

Several of the telescopes remain but the largest telescope, the 100 inch (254 cm) aperture Isaac Newton Telescope was moved to La Palma, in the Canary Islands, in the 1970s. The estate provides housing for the Equatorial Telescope Buildings, which have been converted for use as an interactive science centre for schoolchildren. The empty dome for the Newton Telescope remains on this site and is a landmark, visible from afar.^[16]

University Study Centre

Interior corridor of the castle

In 1992 Alfred Bader, an alumnus of Queen's University, Ontario, learned of the castle's vacancy and offered to purchase the castle for his wife; she declined, joking that there would be "too many rooms to clean".^[17] But in 1994, after intensive renovations, the Queen's International Study Centre was opened. It hosts primarily undergraduate students studying arts, science, or commerce through the Canadian University Study Abroad Program (CUSAP), as well as graduate students studying Public International Law or International Business Law. Specialty summer programmes (May–June) including engineering (Global Project Management), archaeology, international health sciences, and law have become popular in recent years with students from both Queen's and other universities.^[18] In late January 2009, the ISC was renamed the Bader International Study Centre.^[19] As part of the 25th anniversary celebrations, new science and innovation labs were opened on the campus to increase the ability for first year science-tracked students to attend.^[20] In 2022, the Bader International Study Centre was renamed Bader College.^[21] On 13 November 2023, in response to engineering investigations, the university suspended operations at Bader College and future admissions to Bader College programs until structural remediation activities can be completed. It is expected that these activities will take at least 18 months, with the scope of works required still under investigation.^[22]

Historical retinue and events

Herstmonceux Castle is associated with a retinue of historical re-enactment troops including archers, knights, and falconers, who fly their birds over the grounds.^[20] The castle is host to a large medieval weekend in August of each year,^[23] and is also hired out for weddings and weekend events.^[24]